Safety guard



Nov. 27, 1928. 1,692,972

W. D. ANDERSON SAFETY GUARD Filed. June 24, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet l *KMW me, AT'ronnpr '2 Sheets-Sheet 2 W. D. ANDERSON SAFETY GUARD Filed June 24, 1927 Nov. 27, 1.928.

" InvEH-roz Patented Nov. 27, 19253.

lclhllTED STATES VJALTER DOUGLAS ANDERSON, OF NEWCASTLE, NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA.

SAFETY GUARD.

Application filed June 24, 1927. Serial No. 201,163.

T his present invention relates to improvements in a safety guard and appertains particularly to an operator protecting device of this sort adapted for application to the gauge or directly to the table at the feed inlet of a power machine as for instance a lathe or dressing plane, a sizing or surfacing tool or other apparatus having rotary or reciprocating cutters.

The object is to provide a guard that will not obstruct the workmans view of the cutter operating on his material or cramp or interfere with his movements or otherwise prove troublesome as these are common reasons for the dismantling of apparatus and devices intended for the protection of the very persons who object to their presence.

, Another object is the provision of a safety guard that will act as a shield for the worker and stop flying particles and objects thrown out from the moving parts of the mechanism from striking him and which guard (being composed of independently operating sections) can automatically adjust itself to compensate for variations in the thickness or .eontour of the material being fed thereunder.

A. further object is the provision of a safety guard as described that is positive and sure in operation, affording actual protection for the worker against flying fragments therein from the machine and by preventing his hands or any part of his body or clothing being carried into the cutters.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a safety guard for power'machines that. can be readily applied, is of excellent and approved design and characterized by structural simplicity and low cost of production, being thereby rendered commercially desirable.

To the accomplishn'ient of these and related objects, as may become apparent as the description proceeds my invention resides in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts as shall behereinafter more fully described illustrated in the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the claims hereunto appended.

The invention will be best understood and can be more clearly described when reference is had to the drawings forming a part of this disclosure, wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a perspective elevation of a table and working gauge with my improved guard properly applied; and Fig. 2 is a vertical Safety guards are now obtainable for almost every needful situation; the intake or feed end of machines as well asthe deliver ing chutes being provided with suitable protecting elements but this invention combin-- ing in one, a feedguard to prevent parts of the body or clothing of the operator from being drawn into the machinery and a shield against flying objects thrown off from the movable parts serves a dual and Very necessary use. I

The guard comprises essentially a plurality of independently movable dogs or pawls that swing freely on a shaft held by a suitable bracket above the table as for instance being supported from the table gauge.

These pawls 3, of which any desired number may be employed, are preferably of uniform thickness throughout and so mounted for free and independent swinging movement, side by side, on a horizontal shaft 4, that from either front or back they present a solid wall.

In general cross-sectional contour, the pawls 3 are substantially S-shaped, the lower end being pointed, from which the inner side, i. e., next the miller or machine, is formed in a double curve, convex-ed at first as at 3 and then terminally more sharply concaved as at 3 the upper are continuing forwardly until it wouldmeet a vertical line projected from the centre from which it was described: The outer side of thepawl, from thepointed bottom upwards, is first concaved as at 3, convexed in a central thickening shaft accommodating bulge 8 and finally ending in a slight concave or depression 8 the top of which is united with the upper edge of the inner side or concave part 3 by an arcuate convened top 3 As has been intimated in the foregoing, the shaft 4; passes through the thickened portion of the pawls 3 opposite the convex bulge 3 and it is essential that the pawls be so balanced with the heavier portion below the shaft, that. gravity will tend to normally hold the several pawls in proper operative position with the lower pointed ends constantly in contact with the machine table or the material being fed therealong.

In the present embodiment, the pawl carrying shaft 4 is supported in the ends of an inverted U-bracket 5 the free end 5 of which is section therethrough.

substantially shorter than the opposite end 5 that depends to the table gauge 6 and is fastened thereto by a pair of bolts or equivalent fastening-means 7.

To compensate for the thickness of the gauge 6 superposing which there are no pawls 3, a spacing ring or sleeve f surrounds the shaft t at this end, while the distance separating the horizontal shaft 4. from the paralleltop or body of the U-shaped supporting bracket 5 is just sufficient to allow easy clear ance for the arcuate tops 3 of the pawls 8.

As the gauge 6 is adjustable on the table 8 of the machine so that the guard supported thereby can be brought into a line with the miller or other piece ofcutting mechanism 9 intended to operate on the material 10 fed along the table 8, it will beapparent that the plurality of independently moving pawls 3 can. always be placed to act on the feeding material 10 that is readily induced to pass thereunder due to the areuate taper 3, though flexible, as a whole, to compensate for uneven variations in the dimensions thereof, ina way to guard against the passing into the machine of foreign matter as for instance the articles of clothing of the operator or his hands or other parts of his person and at the same time shield such workman from flying chips, splinters or the like tossed out from the cutters, any such particles striking the convex lower ends 3 ricocheting off to the return curve 3 and being thrown back thereby toward the knives.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be manifest that a safety guard is provided that will fulfill all the necessary requirements of such a device, but as many changes could be madein the above description and many apparently widely different embodiments of my invention constructed within the scope of What is claimed without departing'from the spirit or-scope thereof,- it is intended that all matters contained in the said accompanying specification and drawings shall be interpreted as illi'istrative and not in a limited sense.

Having thus described my invention, what is claimed as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A safety guard for power machines com.- prising a bracket, a horizontal rod supported thereby and a shield carried by said rod and composed of a plurality of free swinging and independently working dogs pivoted side by side on said rod in close contact with each other to provide a solid-wall for the side next the machine that is of a double curve form being convex at its lower end and concave at the top to catch and throw back particles tossed out from the machine.

2. In a safety guard for power machines and the like, the combination with the knives and the table thereof of a gauge slidable on said table; a bracket, in the form of an inverted U, mounted on said gauge by one of its depending arms, the body part thereof extending over said table and terminating in a depending arm substantially shorter than the former one a horizontal rod supported by the arms of said bracket; and a plurality of freely swinging and independently working dogs pivoted on said rod, side by side, in close contact with each other to .present'a continuous and unbroken wall throughout their combined length. a i V 3. In a safety guard for power machines and the like, the combination with the knives and table thereof, of a gauge slidable on said table; a bracket in the form of an inverted U, mounted on said gauge byone of its depending arms, the body part thereof extending over said table and terminating in a depending arm substantially shorter than the former one; a horizontal rod supported by the arms of said bracket; a spacing ring on the end thereof next the longer andgauge connecting arm of said bracket, of sufficient length to compensate for the thickness of said gauge; and a plurality of freely swinging and independently worl cing dogs pivoted on said rod, side by side, in close contact with each other to present a continuous and unbroken wall throughout their combined length. 7

4. In a safety guard for power machines and the like, the combination with the knives and table thereof, of a gauge slidable on said table; a bracket, in the form of an inverted U, mounted on said gauge, by one of its depending arms, the body part thereof extending over said table and terminating in a depending arm substantially shorter than the Iormer one a horizontal rod supported by the arms of said bracket; a spacing ring on the end thereof next the longer and gauge connecting arm of said bracket, of sufficient length to compensate for the thickness of said gauge; and apluralit-y of freely swinging and independently working dogs pivoted on said rod, side by side, in close contact wit-h each other throughout the remainder of its length to present a continuous and unbroken wall providing a feed inlet guard from the outer side and a shield against missiles from the machines on the inner side.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiixmy signature.

WALTER DOUGLAS ANDERSON. [Lflsf] 

